A New Dawn
by Twinning
Summary: When Zelgadis Greywords gathers up a new traveling companion, he has a run in with a half demon and a half man beast that are fleeing from Atlas City guards.  When they join forces to seek out a copy of the Claire Bible, hilarity ensues.
1. Enter Titania and Alexi

Titania LaCroix was never one to be modest. With hardly any clothing covering her pale skin, she was quite the sight to behold in Atlas City. Between the bit of black that barely qualified as a skirt and top, to the long black tail that jutted from the base of her spine, and her long blue hair and dual-colored red and yellow eyes, her appearance screamed that of a half demon. How she got in was somewhat of a mystery to the guard, but everyone was well aware of how she got out.

Grabbing the arm of her companion, she pulled her toward the city gates. There was quite the commotion as they ran, with citizens screaming as she tossed Fire Balls back at her pursuers. Alexi Blanche, the woman being dragged, was panicking the entire time, her light tan cat ears plastered back. Titania was merely grinning.

"Titania, I told you this wasn't a good ideaaaa!" she yelled, trying to catch up to the half demon. Titania, thinking quickly, used a light spell to blind the people chasing them and vaulted into the air. Casting Ray Wing, she carried them safely out of the city walls. Once back on the ground, Alexi jumped up with an accusing finger pointed at Titania.

"I told you to stay outside the city and that I would bring you food! I know that you cause me far too much trouble! Why do I let you talk me into things!" she hissed, her furry tail lashing out behind her. Titania giggled, ignoring her angry ranting, and moved out down the path, her black heeled boots kicking up dust as she walked. Alexi's ears perked, and she pulled Titania to the side, behind a large tree.

"There's a strong power over on the other side there. I don't know if we should- don't you dare!"

"DRAGON SLAVE!"


	2. Enter Saber and Zelgadis

Saber Gahlrun had just left Atlas City carrying large sacks full of food, heading back into the nearby forest to meet back up with his companion. This man didn't exactly blend in with his surroundings... or any people in any town he had ever visited. Sitting atop his head was long two-toned black and gold hair that matched the rest of his clothing and armour. The armour he wore was made from the scales of a golden dragon but only covered his torso, leaving his arms exposed, or they would be if it weren't for the gloves he wore, made primarily of leather with black dragon scales as a thin layer over top of the hide against his skin. Over his armour he wears a black sleeveless shirt with some gold trim and pants in the same pattern, also covering the dragon-scale leggings protecting his lower half. On his belt he wears a sword with a golden hilt that is housed in a black sheath with the same matching golden trim as his clothes. The sound of some sort of commotion coming from the city he had left a short time ago drew the attention of his metallic golden eyes, though there was no time to focus as two words rang through the air, and shortly after Saber was flying through the air as well.

"What the? WHAT IS THIS SHIT?" Saber shouted as his body rag-dolled through the air, blasted away from the shockwave of the apparent Dragon Slave that was cast with no warning at all. Who it came from was unknown, where it was aimed was unknown, and if it hadn't been for the dragon scale armour that he wore, the identity of his very self would've been just as unknown as the rest of his situation. Finally hitting the ground in something of a crumpled heap, insult was added to injury, or rather, injury was added to injury as the two large sacks of food he was carrying just so happened to crash down on top of him, a loud and pained "Urghhaaa!" escaping his mouth as the edibles weighed down on him like a guilty conscience.

Though he was nowhere near the actual blast, having hidden well enough away from the city that even if someone had spotted him and his appearance they wouldn't take the time to report him to the Atlas City guards, Zelgadis questioned the origin of the all too familiar spell that had just gone off. "Dragon Slave? Could it be Lina?" he thought out loud as he hovered safely to the ground with a Ray Wing spell. Standing in the remains of what was once a fairly dense forest, Zel scanned the area looking for both the source of the spell and his partner that should've returned to their rendez vous point more than a while ago. "Whatever it was I had better go check it out, though I'd really prefer it not be Lina... I've had enough of her for two life times." he said with a roll of the eyes as he cautiously made his way to the source of the explosion.


	3. What Forest?

Titania cackled at the remnants of the forest. Alexi merely rubbed her temples.

"This... this is why we can't have nice things."

Moving out into the open, the half demon stretched a bit, her tail swiping purposely at Alexi, who caught it and tugged on it hard. Titania yelped, falling back, and pouted. "I just wanted to be safe. You never know when there's another demon around. Besides, I'm sure whomever they were, they're dead now."

With a quick dust off of her clothing, Titania walked down the path and away from town. She spun back to Alexi, waving her forward, and Alexi pointed beside her. The half demon shrugged, spinning around and walking straight into what felt sort of like a brick wall. She fell back, somewhat dazed, and looked up at the man that she had run into, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"I totally didn't even see you there, I'm so sorry." she said, flicking her tail beneath her leg as to hide it a bit. She couldn't really tell, but it seemed that there was something different about this man, especially since he was hiding behind a mask.

Alexi facepalmed. A sudden noise caught her attention, and she glanced over to see a man with gold and black hair, bags of what appeared to be food laying on top of him. She hurried over, pulling the hood of her cloak up to hide her ears, a worried look in her deep green eyes.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry about that, my companion is sort of a Class A moron." she said, smiling a bit and pulling the bags of food off him.


	4. On Your Ass

Moving along the path Zelgadis saw the girl approaching him, but she apparently didn't think watching where she was going was a good idea, and he wasn't about to move out of her way and instead watched as she fell flat on her ass. One thing was for sure, this girl sure as Hell wasn't Lina Inverse and for that, Zelgadis was immensely thankful, though it wouldn't show on his face. His single visible eye looked down at this girl who was dressed (barely) in all black garb, and to go along with what could hardly be considered an outfit was an unusual hair colour, bright blue. Not that Zel should really say anything, given his purple hair, but his situation was a special circumstance.

"I noticed you weren't really paying attention. I mean, it's not like there's anything to hide behind anymore, after that huge spell that just went off, and you still managed not to see me." Zelgadis replied as he waited for her to get up. It wasn't his fault she fell over and she would be crazy to think he would offer to help her up after _she_ bumped into _him_. Looking past her for a moment he caught a glimpse of her friend and his, the latter of the two was lying on the ground after most likely being caught in the impact of the Dragon Slave.

His head shaken and dizzied from the the flight and crash-landing, Saber groggily looked towards the source of the voice that seemed to be talking to him. A young looking girl was above him but he couldn't get a good look at her because of the hood on her head covering her face with some amount of shade. He assumed she wasn't the one casting the spell because for one, she didn't seem to be dressed the part of a sorceress who could cast magic of that level, and two, she was actually helping him out while her friend hadn't even seemed to notice his presence.

"Yeah, I think I'll... be ok. I'm tough enough that I can survive a blast like that, after all." he replied to her as he pulled himself up off the ground, sitting down with one leg bent at the knee and the other outstretched across the ground.


	5. About That Dragon Slave

Alexi smiled, glancing over him to see if he was indeed all right. He seemed to be fine.

"I'm glad you're okay. My name is Alexi Blanche, and the... ahem... cause of that Dragon Slave is over there. Titania LaCriox. She's notorious for getting kicked out of pretty much anywhere you take her." she explained, a bit of bitterness in her voice.

Titania jumped up, not even bothering to hide her irritated tail lashing. After brushing herself off and tousling her hair, she looked back to him, one hand still inside the blue mess of silk. Glancing down, she saw her dagger on the ground behind her, and she bent over to pick it up, then strapped it back on her thigh before addressing him.

"Aforementioned huge spell was my Dragon Slave. If you think that is any way to speak to a lady, then you're obviously quite the charmer. Prick." she scowled. Alexi looked over and saw the tension growing, and quickly dashed over to stop her before she did something that she would regret.

"Titania, I tried to tell you that there was someone there and you ignored me. Don't you go blaming him for standing there."

The half demon scowled, twirling a bit of her hair on a finger. Alexi sighed, rubbing her temples once more. "This is why I can't ever take you places. I'm really sorry if she startled yo-"

"Oh knock it off, Alexi. He's just another asshole that doesn't know how to treat a lady." Titania teased, "Besides, we don't know what he looks like, so it's unlikely we'll ever see him again. Come on, we need to get out of here before the guards come to find me."


	6. Remember Those Guards?

Twisting his body left then right in a successful attempt to crack his back, Saber now stood all the way up and showed this girl Alexi just how tall he really was, reaching his full height at 6'4.

"She sounds like a real pleasure to be around... if you need flying lessons. Aside from the trip I guess it's nice to meet you both. My name is Saber Gahlrun." he told Alexi, purposely avoiding mentioning Zelgadis' name to avoid upsetting his travel companion if he wanted his identity to remain secret. If he wanted anyone to know his name he would give it to them himself, and Saber was respectful enough to go along with his wishes in this regard.

While he wasn't being spoken to directly, Zelgadis overheard the names of the two women before him, more importantly the name of the one before him, Titania LaCroix, the woman who he only just now noticed had a tail sprouting from her back, but at the moment decided against mentioning it. Dealing with this firecracker of a woman would be trouble enough, it seemed. "It may not be Lina, but she seems just as bad." Zelgadis said to himself quietly before responding to her backhand of a comment. "If you can call yourself a lady dressed like you are." he replied, wanting to add more but getting interrupted by Titania's friend.

Even though she was coming to his defence, she seemed a little too cheery for Zelgadis' liking. Alexi seemed to be attempting an apology on behalf of her friend but was abruptly cut short by Titania. Clenching his right fist in front of his face, Zelgadis scowled at being called an asshole. He may think of himself as heartless, but that doesn't mean he's unaffected by insults, even if they're from someone he had only just met. "Of course there's guards after you, isn't there? Why were you even in Atlas city without a disguise anyway?" he asked, ignoring oblivious to the fact that dozens of men would soon be upon them.

"I don't think that should be the highest thing on your worries list." Saber said to Zel as he pointed towards Atlas City, the sounds of guards rushing towards their location as they spoke. Picking up the sacks of food, somewhat emptier than when he had first left the city, Saber prepared to make a break for it as the soldiers got ever closer to their makeshift little group.


	7. They Deserve It!

Titania clenched her fists. What did he mean by _that_? Turning her head a bit, she noticed the more impending problem. With an irritated scowl, and through clenched teeth, she turned and began a spell.

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows, buried in the stre-"

A sudden jerk of the tail by Alexi stopped her, and she quickly changed her tune.

"Oh, fine. Ray Wing."

All four of them were lifted into the air inside the bubble just as the guards reached them. Arrows bounced off, and Titania stuck her tongue out at them before flying off. She found another patch of secluded woods closer to the coast and dropped them there. Alexi let out a sigh of relief.

"You would have destroyed the whole city!" she scolded, her arms waving in irritation. She accidentally brushed her hood, and it fell back, revealing the ears that were plastered back in her agitation. Titania's tail was thrashing.

"As if they don't damn well deserve it. Whatever. Now, what the hell's his problem?" she asked the man with the black and gold hair, motioning to the other. Alexi rubbed her temples again. She did that fairly often with Titania.

"Titania... no. Just no. You could be nice to people for a change." she said, rolling her eyes. The half demon, however, decided that it might not be a bad idea. Putting on her cutest and sexiest pout, she shifted closer to the masked man, her tail now just bobbing lazily.

"I'm so terribly sorry about the Dragon Slave, and running into you. And especially for calling you all those horrible names. I don't suppose you could ever forgive little old me?" she asked, a slightly sad tone to her voice. Alexi facepalmed once more. At this rate, she was going to have bruises.


	8. Manic Depressive Tendencies

Zelgadis cringed as he heard the start of the incantation to the most powerful spell in black magic, one that they had already fallen victim to once before less than a half hour earlier. A quick sigh of relief escaped his lips as Alexi prevented Titania from casting the massive spell, causing her to change her mind and cast a Ray Wing spell instead, whisking the small group to safety far from the guards of Atlas City, which they likely wouldn't be able to return to for a long time after that incident.

Upon landing the two girls were almost instantly at each other again, arguing up a storm while Zelgadis and Saber just watched casually from the sidelines, until of course Titania's attention was finally brought over to Saber and his presence was questioned. On top of having a short temper, this woman also seemed very impatient, never a winning combination. Luckily enough Alexi seemed to have a calmer head on her shoulders, but she also seemed to lack the power to make her friend listen to any of the more intelligent suggestions she had for her.

Just when Saber thought he had her about figured out, suddenly her personality did a complete 180 and she began acting like some helpless weak girl. Apologizing or not, Zelgadis had seen enough of this behaviour from Lina to understand that this Titania was more than likely full of it, putting on a show thinking that he was someone who could be so easily manipulated by a show of skin and a change of tone. "Whether or not I forgive you isn't really the main issue here, and it's going to take a lot more effort than that if you want me to think any different of you." Zelgadis said to her, thankful for the mask he was wearing as it covered the small amount of flushing that was happening in his cheeks. It was easy enough to deny her when she couldn't really tell what was going on behind the mask.

Saber, on the other hand, rather enjoyed the change in behaviour though he made it painfully obvious what was on his mind at that particular moment in time. Cutting in where he clearly should've been keeping his mouth closed, Saber interjected Zelgadis' rude reply with something he felt was more fitting for the situation unfolding in front of him. "Don't worry about him, of course you're forgiven." Saber started, moving in closer for a better view. "Sure your spell caused some damage, but I'm alive, so I can't really be mad at you." he said, more affected by her womanly charm than Zelgadis, the one who was likely the intended recipient of her shameless flaunting of her body.


	9. Tail Yanks

Alexi sighed. Men were just so... dumb.

"That's enough, Titania." she said, scowling. Titania ignored her and shifted closer to the masked figure, nearly able to lay her head against his chest. Alexi decided to just watch, pulling her hood back up.

"Well I wasn't really asking you to change your opinion of me, was I? But I can do that if you want. I can put forth more effort." she purred, almost whispering to him now. The half demon was grinning, and as things took a bit more of a seductive turn, Alexi interfered. She stood, grabbing the girl by the tail. And Titania glared daggers at her.

"It was for your own good."

"My ass it was."

Alexi rolled her eyes again, then cast a glance over to Saber. She was nearly immediately overwhelmed by the beauty of his golden eyes; eyes that until now she had never seen. She moved a bit closer to him, to examine both him and his armor. His armor seemed to be made from some sort of scales, and by the looks of it they were from a Dragon. She pondered a moment, then looked at his sword, wondering if he was hiding any secrets within.


	10. I Wanted To Watch!

Despite his claims and stoic attitude, Zelgadis couldn't help but be taken aback, even if it was a small amount, by this suddenly forward woman. A light layer of sweat began to drip down from his brow, but this was mostly concealed by the wiry, purple hair that protruded out from under his hood and over his face. Zelgadis was quietly relieved to have this woman pulled away from him when she was because he didn't exactly trust this woman, not by a long shot.

Saber had been watching more intently than he should've been, caught almost completely off guard as Alexi made her way closer to him, also completely missing the fact that she had ears that were rather... unnatural. Turning to look at the girl who had helped him up, he was somewhat surprised at how cute she was. He was also a little confused as to why she was getting so close. Usually most people he met or came across in his travels shied away from him because of his style of armour. They thought if he had dragon scale armour that either he himself was a dragon, or that dragons would follow him hoping to take back the scales of their brethren.

"What's the deal, here? Is there a problem with what I'm wearing?" Saber asked Alexi directly, more bothered by the fact that he was being distracted from the show between Titania and Zelgadis, a disappointed groan passing his lips as he glanced over to see that whatever was going on with them seemed to be officially over.


End file.
